Heracles and epilepsy: the sacred disease

Abstract

Epilepsy is one of the most dreaded and terrifying human afflictions. One of the many names it has received was Sacred Disease, during Greek times. Heracles served as a source of the divine connotation that epilepsy received in ancient times, as he was one of the most important demigods in Greek mythology. However, several authors have attributed Heracles’ actions to a seizure, including Hippocrates, who described the sacred disease on his “Corpus Hippocraticum.” This paper reviewed some of the publications on the myth and content of the text of Hippocrates, in relation to the current knowledge of the disease.

Historia de la Epilepsia I: desde la Antigüedad a la Edad Media

“…Él a rmó inequívocamente que "su nacimiento comienza en el embrión mientras aún está en el útero", y predijo, basado en la observación, la etiología genética de muchas formas de epilepsia. Según sus observaciones, los factores precipitantes que pueden causar un ataque epiléptico son: (1) cambios en los vientos y la temperatura, (2) exposición de la cabeza al sol, (3) llanto, y (4) miedo 12 .…”

“…El Cuerpo Hipocrático (Figura 13) comprende casi 70 libros diferentes que se remontan a los siglos VI a III a. C. Es obvio que algunos escritos no pueden ser atribuidos sólo a Hipócrates: los textos son heterogéneos y algunos de ellos son contradictorios y claramente obra de varios autores. El autor de los textos hipocráticos, sea el mismo Hipócrates o no, fue el primero en disputar el origen divino de la enfermedad y establecer un enfoque más cientí co para el estudio de la epilepsia y sus síntomas 12 . Hipócrates distinguió a la histeria de la epilepsia, lo que sería claramente de nido muchos años después por Jean Martin Charcot (1825-1893).…”

Mystical and mythological believes not only limited to psychiatric diseases? A dynamic overview of medicine

“…Almost one-third of people around such patients perceive it to be a paranormal incident, and around 73% of families approach faith healers 5 . Paradoxical to the conventional belief that only mental illness accounts be stigmatized with paranormal belief, it was astonishing to find that the threat not only limits itself to psychiatry but that mystical beliefs have damaged almost all other branches of medicine which were never highlighted 6 – 9 .…”

“…Such babies are believed to be Cyclopes, strong one-eyed gigantic supernatural creatures who helped Zeus in Greek folktales 6 . Epilepsy belongs to the neurologic spectrum of diseases; patients with this disorder present seizures due to abnormal electrical rhythm in the brain electrical waves 9 . Unfortunately, even this neurologic pathology is linked to being possessed and descending the evil soul into one’s body 9 .…”

“…Epilepsy belongs to the neurologic spectrum of diseases; patients with this disorder present seizures due to abnormal electrical rhythm in the brain electrical waves 9 . Unfortunately, even this neurologic pathology is linked to being possessed and descending the evil soul into one’s body 9 . Pellagra, which is just a nutritional deficiency of vitamin B3, is linked to being supernatural creatures, as patients to suffer from erythematous glossitis, which is believed to be fangs with dripping blood, pruritus, insomnia, and rage, which is a classic description of werewolves mentioned in vampire folktales 7 , 8 .…”